Mandatory Commercial Recycling

Recyclable Materials Image

AB 341 requires Mandatory Commercial Recycling in California as of July 1, 2012. Businesses or public entities that are subscribing to waste collection services or are a multi-family residential property of five or more units are required to have a recycling program.

For more information on Mandatory Commercial Recycling (AB 341) please see the California Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) website

How do you contact us?

www.recycLA.com
1149 South Broadway Street, Los Angeles 90015
1-800-773-2489

Staff are available 24 hours a day.
 

 

What information do we need from you when you call?

  • Your name
  • Business name
  • Business address
  • Type of business
    1. Commercial Business
    2. Multi-Family Residence
  • Type of waste you generate
  • Type of information you need from us

 
Download our Mandatory Commercial Recycling for Businesses and Multi-family Dwellings flyer. 

FAQs

Q: What are the benefits of this law?
A: 1. The more recyclable materials a business can divert from their trash, the greater the potential savings and/or reduction in costs (i.e. monthly trash bill).
2. Recycling can help reduce emissions of methane, air toxics, and criteria pollutants from landfills.
3. Recycling frees up space in landfills which have a limited capacity.
4. The more businesses and residents recycle, the greater the ability for the City of Los Angeles to meet its diversion goal of 90% by 2025 and Zero Waste by 2035 (95% diversion).
Q: Who is required to recycle?
A: 1. Businesses, business complexes, or public entities that have the capacity to create four cubic yards or more of solid waste per week
2. Owners/managers of a multi-family dwelling of five units or more
Q: Who can I contact for recycling services?
A:
Visit www.recycLA.com for more information or call 1-800-773-2489. 
 
recycLA Zones and Franchise Service Provider (FSP)
West LA, North Central, and Harbor - Athens Services
East Downtown - CALMET Services Inc.
Downtown - NASA Disposal Services Inc
Northeast Valley and South LA - Republic
Northeast - Universal Waste Systems Inc. 
Southeast - WARE Disposal
West Valley and Southeast LA - Waste Management   
Q: What steps are required to comply?
A:
1. Subscribe to Blue Bin recycling services with your recycLA service provider.  
2. Separate your recyclable materials from your refuse and take them to a recycling center or subscribing to a service for the collection of recyclables by a permitted hauler.
Q: What type of materials can I recycle?
A:
Paper
All clean dry paper, including:
Computer paper
Ledger paper
Arts and craft paper
Unwanted mail
Flyers
Telephone books
Note cards
Newspaper
Magazines
File folders
Paper bags
Post-it notes
Catalogs
All envelopes, including those with windows
 
Cardboard
All cardboard boxes and chipboard, including:
Cereal boxes
Tissue boxes
Dry food boxes
Frozen food boxes
Shoe boxes
Detergent boxes
Paper towel and toilet paper rolls
Cardboard boxes (broken down and flattened)
 
Cartons
All refrigerated, shelf-stable, aseptic packaging, including:
Fruit juice boxes and cartons
Orange juice cartons
Milk cartons
Wine boxes
Soy milk, rice milk and almond milk boxes and cartons
Cereal boxes
Heavy cream cartons
Egg substitute cartons
 
Metals
All aluminum, tin, metal, and bi-metal cans, wiped out if possible, including:
Soda cans
Juice cans
Soup cans
Vegetables cans
Pet food cans
Pie tins
Clean aluminum foil
Empty paint and aerosol cans
Wire hangers
 
Glass
All glass bottles and jars, wiped out if possible, including:
Soda bottles
Wine bottles
Beer bottles
Spaghetti sauce jars
Pickle jars
Broken bottles
 
Plastics
All plastics numbers 1 through 7
Empty plastic containers, wiped out if possible, including:
Soda bottles 
Juice bottles
Detergent containers
Bleach containers
Shampoo bottles
Lotion bottles
Mouthwash bottles
Dishwashing liquid bottles
Milk jugs
Tubs for margarine and yogurt
Plastic planters
Food and blister packaging
Rigid clamshell packaging
All clean plastic bags (grocery bags, dry cleaner bags, and film plastics)
All clean polystyrene products (plates, cups, containers, egg cartons, block packaging, and packing materials)
Plastic hangers
Non-electric plastic toys
Plastic swimming pools
Plastic laundry baskets
Car seats (cloth removed)
Q: What if I am a business that has occasional special events that generate large amounts of waste? Am I subject to the mandatory commercial recycling?
A: During the time period that your site generates and subscribes to a weekly service of four cubic yards of solid waste, then the business will need to recycle.
Q: What is "solid waste"?
A: Solid waste is material that is generally disposed of in a landfill and does not include recyclables.
Q: What support is available to assist me in meeting the requirements of the law?
A:

LASAN offers a list of publications to help businesses identify how they can implement their own recycling programs.

LASAN also offers a Multi-family Residential Recycling Program Mangers/Owners guide that illustrates how to calculate the cost savings from a recycling program. 
 

Q: How do I sign up?
A:

All customers under recycLA will be provided recycling service as part of their hauling services.

Q: How do I know if I have the capacity to collect four cubic yards or more a week?
A: If your bin is four cubic yards and picked up once or more a week you are required to recycle. If your property has bins that provide an equivalent capacity, you are required to recycle, (i.e., if you have a three cubic yard bin and it is picked up twice a week, then you are required to recycle). Check your current waste hauling bill or call your hauler if you are not sure of your bin size.
Q: Why was Assembly Bill 341 signed into law?
A: 1. To reduce the green house gas (GHG) emissions by diverting commercial solid waste through recycling efforts, and to expand the opportunity for additional recycling services and recycling manufacturing facilities in California.
2. To reduce methane emissions at landfills from the decomposition of organic materials.
3. To meet the statewide goal of 75% solid waste diversion by 2020.
4. According to 2008 Statewide Waste Characterization data, the commercial sector generates nearly three-fourths of the solid waste in California. Most of the commercial sector waste disposed in landfills is recyclable.
Q: When did this law take effect?
A: All affected properties were required to start recycling July 1, 2012.
Q: If my multi-family residential property is already enrolled in the City's Multi-family Residential Recycling Program, do I need to do anything else to comply?
A: If you are already enrolled in the City's program there is nothing further you need to do at this time. When the City moves to an exclusive franchise, you will be required to establish a contract with the haulers(s) awarded your section of the City.
Q: Will I receive a penalty if I don't have recycling on my property?
A: The City encouraged all affected properties to have a recycling program in place by July 1, 2012. Your waste haulers will be reporting to the City which customers are subscribing to recycling services. Although the City is not pursuing monetary fines right now, there is a strong likelihood that the State will authorize the City to pursue enforcement actions against non-compliant properties. This has already been suggested by the State in their May 9, 2012, report, “California’s New Goal: 75% Recycling.” The document can be reviewed at http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/75percent/
Q: Who can I contact for more information?
A:

recycLA Customer Care 1-800-773-2489